This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
In plant development, modifications are made in the plants, either through selective breeding or genetic manipulation. And, when a desirable improvement is achieved, a commercial quantity is developed by planting seeds from selected ones of the plants and harvesting resulting seeds over several generations. Throughout the process, numerous decisions are made based on characteristics and/or traits of the plants being bred, and similarly on characteristics and/or traits of their parents, although not all resulting crosses are guaranteed to inherit or exhibit the desired traits. Traditionally, as part of selecting particular plants for further development, samples are taken from the plants and/or their resulting seeds and tested so that only plants and/or seeds having the desired characteristics and/or traits are advanced. Plant development involves large numbers of possible crosses, from which final breeding decisions must be made.
Corresponding reference numerals indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings.